Vergil Ortiz Jr did everything he had to do to ensure his scheduled August 3rd match up with Tim Tszyu goes ahead as planned, this by wiping out Thomas Dulorme inside one brutal round last night in Fresno, California. Ortiz Jr took Dulorme down with a body shot that really can only be described as sickening. The fight was over with at the 2:39 mark of round one and Ortiz Jr is now a perfect 21-0(21). Dulorme who was felled for the count, is now 26-7-1(17).

Ortiz Jr really has looked like a beast since moving up to the 154 pound division, and he is now celebrating the scoring of his second first-round KO in a row. Now, going into the Tszyu fight, promoter Oscar De La Hoya is “guaranteeing” Ortiz Jr will KO the former WBO 154 pound champ when they meet in L.A in August. That remains to be seen, but the boxing world is buzzing right now due to Ortiz Jr’s brutal punching efficiency.

And Ortiz Jr called out Tszyu, 24-1(17) right after despatching Dulorme.

“Hey Tim, man, I know you’re watching this fight right now. I’m ready for you, man,” Ortiz Jr said. “We’re ready. Let’s get ready for World War Three! I just want to fight the best. I don’t care if it’s the right time or not. Tim Tszyu, let’s get it.”

And a far as the Ortiz Jr-Tszyu fight being at “the right time,” it’s true this one perhaps should have taken place when one of the two guys, or even both, held a world title. And as Tszyu has written on social media, “Me and Vergil Ortiz [is] the real main event.”

As big and as super-interesting as the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov 154 pound title fight is, a fan could certainly make a case that the Ortiz Jr-Tszyu fight is the best fight set for the big fight card. Going in, with Tszyu coming off that bloody decision loss to the huge-for-the-weight Sebastian Fundora, and with Ortiz Jr coming off a devastating KO, it seems safe to say plenty of fans will be picking the unbeaten Texan to defeat the Australian warrior. Suddenly, we have a very, very interesting and exciting fight to look forward to. In fact, 2024 is really shaping up as a great year for the sport.

Ortiz Jr might be one of the single hardest punchers in the sport right now, and again, both he and Tszyu deserve a ton of credit for agreeing to risk a whole lot by taking on each other.

Who do YOU think wins between Ortiz Jr and Tszyu?